At the end of a long day taking care of others' needs, you may look forward to a date with your pillow and a warm blanket. Unfortunately, for many people--especially the parents and caregivers of young children--lack of sleep is a common occurrence.

Sleep is important for many reasons. Adequate rest is essential for good health, mental and emotional functioning, and safety. Sleep deprivation does more than leave you feeling sleepy and tired the next morning: it has been linked to increased accidents, problems concentrating, poor performance on the job and in school, depression, increased sickness, and weight gain.

How much sleep is enough? Although each person's sleep needs vary, most healthy adults need about seven-eight hours of sleep each night. Stress, diet, lack of exercise, and medications may prevent you from getting a good night's sleep. For women, changes in menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause also may conspire to rob you of a restful night of slumber. Caring for children can bring stress, hectic and inconsistent schedules, sleep interruptions, and added responsibility that can also affect sleep.

Sleep Helpers

Daytime habits also can contribute to the quality of your sleep. Try making the following changes to your daytime routines if your sleep is less than stellar. Exercise regularly early in the day. Exercising immediately before bedtime can keep you awake even if you want to rest.

• Drink and eat lightly. Avoid caffeine and sugar before bed, and avoid eating large, heavy meals so your body will not have to spend a great deal of energy digesting. Too much alcohol also may thwart your quest for a good night's rest. Go easy on nonalcoholic beverages such as water or juice, too as having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night will interrupt your sleep as well.
• Get up at the same time every day and try to go to bed at the same time each night to establish a regular routine. Try relaxing with a warm bath or a few minutes of meditation before saying goodnight.
• Make sure your bedroom is comfortable. Set the thermostat so you are not too cool or hot, use comfortable sheets and pillows, and minimize noise and light.
• Avoid composing mental to-do lists for the coming day. Instead, keep a notepad and pen to write down any thoughts you need to remember instead of mulling them over and interrupting your sleep.
• Remove your watch or cover your clock so you do not spend valuable sleep time worrying about how long you have until your alarm goes off.

Parents of Young Children

Getting to sleep is not necessarily the problem for parents of young children, but staying asleep is. Many parents of young children find themselves sleep-deprived from tending to their child's needs during the night. How can you get enough rest when your child thinks nighttime is playtime?

Make prime time sleep time. Although it may be tempting to watch TV or catch up on housework once your child goes down for the night, your best bet is to head to bed. Even if you cannot sleep right away, the rest will relax and help prepare you for a good night's sleep.

Enlist your partner, friend, or relative to soothe the child so you can get several hours of uninterrupted slumber. Even if you can only grab a full night's sleep every third night, you will be better off than with no help at all. You may still be disturbed by your baby's crying even if someone else has taken the night shift, so sleep out of hearing range of the nursery and leave the monitor behind or block out the noise with headphones or earplugs.

If your infant goes to sleep a few hours before you do, wake him or her up for a quick feeding before hitting the sack yourself. Doing so will ensure a few hours of quality rest before your baby wakes up hungry.

Try having a light snack, such as milk and crackers, before bedtime if you are hungry. It is easy to forget to eat when you are caring for a baby's needs, but adults can wake from hunger during the night just like infants.

Keep the lights low. Use dimmer switches or night lights instead of overhead lights so bright lights do not disturb you and your child.

Lifestyle Changes

Many sleep problems can be resolved with changes to your lifestyle, diet, and exercise program, and a little help from your partner or a friend or family member can help too. It may be tempting to rely on over-the-counter sleep aids to help you get a good night's rest, but these medications are not recommended for long-term use. For sleep problems that persist, such as insomnia, daytime sleepiness, or snoring, you may need to see a sleep specialist or visit a sleep disorder clinic. By talking about the quality of your sleep and sleep habits with a doctor, you may finally be able to get a good night's rest.

INTERNET RESOURCES

American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 6301 Bandel Rd., Rochester, NY 55901;
507-287-6006; www.aasmnet.org

Better Sleep Council, PO Box 19534, Alexandria, VA 22320; 703-683-8371; www.bettersleep.org

National Sleep Foundation, 1522 K St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005;
202-347- 3471; www.sleepfoundation.org